Economists at Texas A&M have been looking into our wallets to see exactly where all our money has gone in the past five years.

Mark Dotzour, chief economist and research director at the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University's Mays Business School, compiled a list of critical goods and services, tracking changes in cost from December 2008 to March 2014.

According to A&M, the takeaway from Dotzour's research is:

Never get sick and never travel by car or airplane.

Always ride the bus, but just within your city limits.

Focus your diet on ice cream, hot dogs and carbonated drinks.

For a splurge, have a cup of coffee.

Buy a new television, camera and computer every year, because the prices fall every year.

Buy lots of clocks and dishes. Stay away from the post office and magazines.